Anyone bought a highish value van privately?

[Gary217]

If you consider sites in the U.K. to be too formal have you considered the use of CLs or CSs?

There are some gems out there that are in beautiful locations and far from formal.

OK, they are not free like many Aires and Stellplatz, but may be worth a thought rather than taking a hit on the motorhome.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Yes, we have used CLs and CSs thanks, and they are nice and more casual, we're not looking for free stop-overs in particular, we just find in Europe the sites are generally more casual; it's much more a case of park how you want, just relax whereas so many places in the UK are park in a straight line, use the marker, loads of notices don't do this, that etc. We appreciate this suits many people so we're not knocking it, just not what we like. Also we're not the sort to sit on a campsite but we like to take off and explore the areas and in Europe parking a MoHo for a few hours is very often a welcoming experience whereas in the UK it's so often a nightmare. It's just personal preferences, but makes having a MoHo that is basically stuck in the UK not appropriate for us.

 

[dabhand]

Thanks for the replies, helping us form an opinion. However, I should have been clearer, sorry - our intention is to wait and sell the van once we're through the worse of the lockdown and dealers have re-opened and sites have re-opened. We haven't found a dealer to buy now (not looked as they're all closed) and with distancing etc we couldn't show anyone round the van even if we got any interest which is zero probability. Like everyone else, our van is going to be sitting on the drive, being looked after (cleaned, charged etc) but not doing anything.
For clarity, as some have said the figures are pure guesstimates, but a bit researched and from a previous sell-only deal we did on a previous van. Dealers need a profit which we accept - hence the consideration of selling privately.

When (if) lock down is eased and you are going to draw 32k on a 40k van, and you like the van and intend to use it in the future, unless you need the money which is fair enough, you might as well keep the van as the 8k you’d lose will be about the same as the depreciation over two years. The problem right now is I doubt you could sell it unless there is an even bigger reduction in price, there will of course be a price point at which you’d be better off waiting anyway! Good luck

 

[Abacist]

That's really interesting - thanks! Will look into this.

Be very careful to read their terms very carefully! They advertised mine using my pictures. I was also advertising it which they accepted. After a year with no sale I withdrew it. Motorhome Depot never introduced anyone to me but as soon as I stopped advertising it I had a call to say that they had someone interested. I said it was too late and it was no longer for sale. They then sent a bill for, from memory, about £1,500 for all the advertising and work that they had done. I told them to stick it but having read their terms wrote to them offering £150 which I had calculated as being an Autotrader advert or thereabouts in full and final settlement which they accepted. I would never ever deal with them again in the circumstances.

 

[CazPaul]

Be very careful to read their terms very carefully! They advertised mine using my pictures. I was also advertising it which they accepted. After a year with no sale I withdrew it. Motorhome Depot never introduced anyone to me but as soon as I stopped advertising it I had a call to say that they had someone interested. I said it was too late and it was no longer for sale. They then sent a bill for, from memory, about £1,500 for all the advertising and work that they had done. I told them to stick it but having read their terms wrote to them offering £150 which I had calculated as being an Autotrader advert or thereabouts in full and final settlement which they accepted. I would never ever deal with them again in the circumstances.

So can you never withdraw from selling it through them then, even after a year with no interest at all?

 

[Mr Librium]

That's really interesting - thanks! Will look into this.

If you want any more info, let me know.
Steve.

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[Gary217]

Be very careful to read their terms very carefully! They advertised mine using my pictures. I was also advertising it which they accepted. After a year with no sale I withdrew it. Motorhome Depot never introduced anyone to me but as soon as I stopped advertising it I had a call to say that they had someone interested. I said it was too late and it was no longer for sale. They then sent a bill for, from memory, about £1,500 for all the advertising and work that they had done. I told them to stick it but having read their terms wrote to them offering £150 which I had calculated as being an Autotrader advert or thereabouts in full and final settlement which they accepted. I would never ever deal with them again in the circumstances.

The one thing you can be sure about me is that I am very cautious...sometimes too cautious and lose opportunities. But thanks for the tip-off.

 

[violet]

The one thing you can be sure about me is that I am very cautious...sometimes too cautious and lose opportunities. But thanks for the tip-off.

Perhaos it's better to be cautious and lose an opportunity than to throw caution to the winds and lose a lot more

 

[chaser]

We bought our campervan through Motorhome Depot, a broker, granted it was a lot cheaper than your Motorhome, but we found the process very transparent. The broker just gets a commission so the agreed price is pretty much what it would be for a private sale.
Worked brilliantly for us and having picked the van up off the owner with the Motorhome Depot agent, it all seemed very natural, organised and safe.

Second motorhome depot

 

[Landy Andy]

Yes, we have used CLs and CSs thanks, and they are nice and more casual, we're not looking for free stop-overs in particular, we just find in Europe the sites are generally more casual; it's much more a case of park how you want, just relax whereas so many places in the UK are park in a straight line, use the marker, loads of notices don't do this, that etc. We appreciate this suits many people so we're not knocking it, just not what we like. Also we're not the sort to sit on a campsite but we like to take off and explore the areas and in Europe parking a MoHo for a few hours is very often a welcoming experience whereas in the UK it's so often a nightmare. It's just personal preferences, but makes having a MoHo that is basically stuck in the UK not appropriate for us.

We are exactly the same. If we can only holiday in the UK, our MoHo will be sold. Motorhoming in the uk is a chore and in mainland Europe a pleasure. Very different experiences.

We bought our MoHo via motorhome depot, so a broker. It was listed £34 thou. I went to see it and met owner, and broker at owners house. Checked through van and agreed to buy it and negotiated price down, but purchase was on agreement of good inspection results of an engineer. Engineer only picked up one issue (original/old tyres) so renegotiated and bought it.
Great experience, no problems, would prefer to meet the person who owns the vehicle as apposed to some slimey salesman.

 

[Coolcats]

I very much doubt that the dealer will pay you £32k for it I'm afraid, more like high £20k's, when we've asked for px values on MHs in the past the vast majority were well below what a private sale would bring in and when asking for a price but not buying a MH from them, they are usually even lower.

With the present financial climate I think you might struggle to get a dealer to agree to buy it at all, and if they do more likely to be mid £20ks.

Our very nice high spec low mileage T5 conversion had ridiculous offers from Dealers many of who appeared to be offloading it to a 3rd party dealer in the south. Whilst I did not want to have to sell privately that is what I did and received around £8k more than any dealer was offering. Even then it was probably £3K less than forecourt pricing.

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[Coolcats]

We are exactly the same. If we can only holiday in the UK, our MoHo will be sold. Motorhoming in the uk is a chore and in mainland Europe a pleasure. Very different experiences.

We bought our MoHo via motorhome depot, so a broker. It was listed £34 thou. I went to see it and met owner, and broker at owners house. Checked through van and agreed to buy it and negotiated price down, but purchase was on agreement of good inspection results of an engineer. Engineer only picked up one issue (original/old tyres) so renegotiated and bought it.
Great experience, no problems, would prefer to meet the person who owns the vehicle as apposed to some slimey salesman.

Not all salesman are slimey, a good coat of Teflon ensures that.

 

[Dorwyn]

Be very careful to read their terms very carefully! They advertised mine using my pictures. I was also advertising it which they accepted. After a year with no sale I withdrew it. Motorhome Depot never introduced anyone to me but as soon as I stopped advertising it I had a call to say that they had someone interested. I said it was too late and it was no longer for sale. They then sent a bill for, from memory, about £1,500 for all the advertising and work that they had done. I told them to stick it but having read their terms wrote to them offering £150 which I had calculated as being an Autotrader advert or thereabouts in full and final settlement which they accepted. I would never ever deal with them again in the circumstances.

I used them once and was very pleased with them. Sold a VERY high mileage van, they (he) was very friendly, helpful and efficient. And so I was relaxed about the money transfer. For me this was the big issue, why I used them, the transfer of money.

The previous van I had sold privately. We went to my bank, he had cash and paid it into mine. The bank staff knew it was a private sale (not drugs money!). So I felt reasonably happy, even though it could possibly have been counterfeit money, but they had at least looked at the cash.

 

[DL42846]

We have had three vans. One from a dealer and two private. The last private buy was £35,000. I wouldn't bother going through a dealer.

 

[gwyntaxi]

Just wondered if anyone on here has actually bought a mid-£30K MoHo or PVC privately? Reason for asking is that we upgraded our van in Feb to a MoHo for the main purpose of doing European trips this year (S Spain, Portugal, usual 2 weeks in France, Scandinavia, Germany) none of which will happen. We also are doubtful next year will be back to normal as a vaccine roll-out is not going to happen instantly, so even if we get to Europe bars, cafes, restaurants will most probably be under restrictions. Pessimistic view we know…but sadly probably also realistic.
We’re not fans of using vans in the UK as sites tend to be too formal (not all – but lots), often not near towns for visits and town/coastal parking in the UK is pathetically bad. So if we go away in the UK we take the car and enjoy a pub or cottage.
So, having bought the van in Feb we are considering selling it once lockdown eases enough to be able to do this. There is nothing wrong at all with the van, it is just a matter of not being able to use it the way we would like so no point keeping it.The obvious place is to take it to the dealers and take the best price but we know they have to make a profit and that’ll be in the region of £5K to £6K minimum so we’ll get say £32K and they put it up for £38K.
If we sold privately we’d split the gap and go for £35K. The van is in excellent condition, very low miles, we’ve added only a few hundred and we’d throw in some of the tables, chairs, TV, etc. It is under dealer 6-month second hand warranty but we’d look to buy the extended warranty on offer (so long as it is transferrable which we think it is) to give the new owner some peace of mind, which is what dealers do. There are a couple of identical MoHos on dealer sites with higher mileage for £38K to £40K so the buyer can check the value against these.
Personally for me, £35K is a lot and almost too much to spend privately but as an overly cautious person, I wondered if others out there are more happy to do this, and have actually done this at this price level to save a few grand?

(As an aside, I was surprised when we sold our VW T5 for c £20K privately how quickly it went – a dealer would have been putting it up for £3K more as I thought that was too much money for private deals. )

You haven't given any details of year model make etc, though someone has asked for them, you might have an interested buyer on here, myself included.

 

[SuperMike]

All this talk of buying and selling Motorhomes, isn't going to happen any time soon. Indeed, miserable old SuperMike spells this as the end of the industry and our hobbie, unless Borris baby comes up with something stunning on Sunday.

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[haganap]

I have bought and sold vans Privately.

The problem with selling privately is that those generally in the know have a van to sell themselves, it becomes like a chain, a motorhome chain similar to houses.

sorry to be the barer of bad news but your expectations of dealer offers is way off the mark. They would be offering around 28 for a van that they would market at about 38-40.

Don't want to back the dealers, but be mindful of the fact that that is not 10k profit, in fact it's a very small proportion of profit when you add in all the dealership costs.

 

[Coolcats]

I have bought and sold vans Privately.

The problem with selling privately is that those generally in the know have a van to sell themselves, it becomes like a chain, a motorhome chain similar to houses.

sorry to be the barer of bad news but your expectations of dealer offers is way off the mark. They would be offering around 28 for a van that they would market at about 38-40.

Don't want to back the dealers, but be mindful of the fact that that is not 10k profit, in fact it's a very small proportion of profit when you add in all the dealership costs.

This is interesting, regarding 'profit' I recently did a commission sale with a dealer on a vehicle that sold for £32K the commission the dealer took was £3K he also has overheads, the vehicle took some 4 months to shift so why would a dealer need £10K for a commission sale of a MoHo if the vehicle is in A1 Condition and by that I mean serviced MOT new tyres and checked for functionality. All the dealer has to do is sell the vehicle and place some warranty around it and that would not be £7K's worth of stuff.

 

[haganap]

This is interesting, regarding 'profit' I recently did a commission sale with a dealer on a vehicle that sold for £32K the commission the dealer took was £3K he also has overheads, the vehicle took some 4 months to shift so why would a dealer need £10K for a commission sale of a MoHo if the vehicle is in A1 Condition and by that I mean serviced MOT new tyres and checked for functionality. All the dealer has to do is sell the vehicle and place some warranty around it and that would not be £7K's worth of stuff.

many dealers will allow the movement of vans from their forecourt dependent on type etc and expectations. Many charge 10% for this so your's wasn't that far out. Even some of the bigger dealers like Spinneys will do this.
However, what they will know is what to expect the vehicle to sell for. Your 4 months on their "plot" is a dead plot. look at that space with regards to how much it costs to rent etc.
Incidentally, I am not talking about a "commission" sale in my post above but a trade in value against what he then sells it for as the OP was discussin.
In selling for you as he has, he is looking a gift horse in the mouth. You gave him 3k for renting a plot of land for 4 months on a van he knew would sell.

Take that against taking in a van in PX / outright buy that the dealer is going to know there are repairs to be done on it, service, it, warranty it, pay the sales staff, the rent on the premises, putting a warranty on it, maybe an MOT on it. Maybe having to drag it to various shows or whatever he chooses to do, paying back bank loans business rates and then on top of all that be forced with then taking another PX against it.

There used to be a poster on here called John Cross motorhomes who gave a really good insight in to the running's and dealership workings and of course the margins.
On top of all this, now of course if the dealer takes the OPs van, he has no way of knowing which way the economy is going so it's an even bigger risk. He could potentially have it sat on his forecourt for many many months to come with all the overheads to pay.

 

[Coolcats]

many dealers will allow the movement of vans from their forecourt dependent on type etc and expectations. Many charge 10% for this so your's wasn't that far out. Even some of the bigger dealers like Spinneys will do this.
However, what they will know is what to expect the vehicle to sell for. Your 4 months on their "plot" is a dead plot. look at that space with regards to how much it costs to rent etc.
Incidentally, I am not talking about a "commission" sale in my post above but a trade in value against what he then sells it for as the OP was discussin.
In selling for you as he has, he is looking a gift horse in the mouth. You gave him 3k for renting a plot of land for 4 months on a van he knew would sell.

Take that against taking in a van in PX / outright buy that the dealer is going to know there are repairs to be done on it, service, it, warranty it, pay the sales staff, the rent on the premises, putting a warranty on it, maybe an MOT on it. Maybe having to drag it to various shows or whatever he chooses to do, paying back bank loans business rates and then on top of all that be forced with then taking another PX against it.

There used to be a poster on here called John Cross motorhomes who gave a really good insight in to the running's and dealership workings and of course the margins.
On top of all this, now of course if the dealer takes the OPs van, he has no way of knowing which way the economy is going so it's an even bigger risk. He could potentially have it sat on his forecourt for many many months to come with all the overheads to pay.

Interesting comment, I know what I wanted for the vehicle it was priced realistically at the top end of its value, I had a six month sale or return contract with the dealer based on the commission sale (if I had sold the car during this period he would still have collected his commission), the dealer knew the value of the vehicle he handled the sale and I had no hassle with buyers. I presented him with a clean vehicle MOT'd serviced new tyres and whilst it was valeted they gave it another coat of wax and dusted it down. They have marketing and premises costs for sure but there is no way I will ever let a dealer steal my vehicles

At the end of the day it is about being realistic, if you hand a vehicle over to a dealer with scuffs and marks they will have to spend money touching it up changing tyres servicing etc. some people are happy with a PX, whilst saving money at one end by not changing tyres not servicing short MOT etc and letting the dealer sort all of those elements out, I guess every one looks at a deal differently.

Elsewhere on the forums I mentioned I traveled to liverpool from essex to 'do a deal' 10 miles on the clock on the vehicle so basically its brand new and effectively 25% discount if I had ordered it from a local dealer, but not everyone wants to travel or have the cash available to do such a deal ( I knew what I wanted but took me two months to find the vehicle at a price I was prepared to pay).

 

[gwyntaxi]

Good morning Unispectra,
Thank you for your prompt response, I can confirm that the refund has now been received, many thanks again it has been a refreshing pleasure to deal with a seller who is prepared to look after a customer, I would be happy to purchase again from you.
Regards.
Gwynfor Walters.

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[haganap]

Interesting comment, I know what I wanted for the vehicle it was priced realistically at the top end of its value, I had a six month sale or return contract with the dealer based on the commission sale (if I had sold the car during this period he would still have collected his commission), the dealer knew the value of the vehicle he handled the sale and I had no hassle with buyers. I presented him with a clean vehicle MOT'd serviced new tyres and whilst it was valeted they gave it another coat of wax and dusted it down. They have marketing and premises costs for sure but there is no way I will ever let a dealer steal my vehicles

At the end of the day it is about being realistic, if you hand a vehicle over to a dealer with scuffs and marks they will have to spend money touching it up changing tyres servicing etc. some people are happy with a PX, whilst saving money at one end by not changing tyres not servicing short MOT etc and letting the dealer sort all of those elements out, I guess every one looks at a deal differently.

Elsewhere on the forums I mentioned I traveled to liverpool from essex to 'do a deal' 10 miles on the clock on the vehicle so basically its brand new and effectively 25% discount if I had ordered it from a local dealer, but not everyone wants to travel or have the cash available to do such a deal ( I knew what I wanted but took me two months to find the vehicle at a price I was prepared to pay).

I think either you or I are confused.

The OP is talking about ringing a dealer from the pages of the magazine and saying please buy my van. He/She is then looking at a similar vehicle on a dealers forecourt and imagining a price for his. He/she is then thinking that they are likely to get a similar (less a couple of k) price for theirs. They won't. As others have said high 20s if they are lucky due to dealer mark ups.

You might want to suggest the OP does what you did or as others have said use a broker who will take around about 10% to sell for you. To get to a position whereby you are in the dealer will, like yours was, make a judgement.
How tidy is the van, how long will it take to shift? (some vans take a year or more to move) Then when all considered offer a spot on his forecourt under his name to sell it.
In your case, you gave the dealer a nice van, in good condition, well looked after that he knew would sell reasonably easily (as proved) and therefore snapped your hand off, took his commission, paid you out and everyone is happy.

No dealer would want to take my van on the same basis as yours and do the same. it's a high end vehicle, so immediately knocks many buyers out the park. It's got 6 wheels, so more fall away, it's 5.5t so even more fall away. Despite being clean tidy and in fantastic condition it's a risk for a dealer, it could take twice the space of a normal van for 12 months boxing out any profit.

Most would snap the hand off for a VWt5 or similar, they will sell all day long, others won't.

I really would love to see what dealers are offering at the moment. Those taking a gamble and flash with cash will buy up from desperate sellers who just want to cover repayments and make a tidy sum moving them on? or take the same gamble to find theirs no buyers and they have invested all their money in stock that just won't shift. Strange times.

 

[Wellington]

I bought my first MH privately, for about 35K. I was happy with the van, had checks etc done by the AA and felt the seller was trustworthy (went to his home, viewed the van etc). My biggest worry was how to actually move the money. I went for CHAPS in the end, shortly before I went to collect it. There was a slightly nail biting 24 hours, where I had transferred the money, the guy had got it, but I hadn't even left to pick up the van, as it was 50 miles away. I was comfortable with it because I could do some very basic identity checks. As a professional, the chap was a member of a professional body, and I could check up him on their public register, so I felt that did at least prove that he was a real person, and he was also listed on the V5 thingy at the address I viewed the vehicle at.

However, if I had been wrong, and the turned up next day having transferred the money, there was no protection for me. You are protected against 'fraud', but not 'scams'. I'm not sure I would do it again! I still don't know what a good solution would have been.

 

[Coolcats]

I bought my first MH privately, for about 35K. I was happy with the van, had checks etc done by the AA and felt the seller was trustworthy (went to his home, viewed the van etc). My biggest worry was how to actually move the money. I went for CHAPS in the end, shortly before I went to collect it. There was a slightly nail biting 24 hours, where I had transferred the money, the guy had got it, but I hadn't even left to pick up the van, as it was 50 miles away. I was comfortable with it because I could do some very basic identity checks. As a professional, the chap was a member of a professional body, and I could check up him on their public register, so I felt that did at least prove that he was a real person, and he was also listed on the V5 thingy at the address I viewed the vehicle at.

However, if I had been wrong, and the turned up next day having transferred the money, there was no protection for me. You are protected against 'fraud', but not 'scams'. I'm not sure I would do it again! I still don't know what a good solution would have been.

Buying and selling can be a nail bitting stressful experience, it is large sums of money to be transferring, when we sold the T5 I had the purchaser sitting in my house for around 5 hours whilst the money went in t the account and confirmation calls were made. I had done background checks on the purchaser and he was totally legitimate, he did not want to leave without the van and I was not going to release it until the bank confirmed the money was safe in the account.

 

[fat haggis]

I got my our latest hymer starline from here .. the person selling it listed and said he was offshore worker.. it didn't sound or look that good.. but in the end he was an honest seller after I did all the checks like the above and more. He even did a detour to pick me up on his return from offshore. I got picked up driven to his house gave the van a once over it was 10.30 pm by then . All happy with the van and paperwork I paid him by bank transfer .its virtually instant these days doing the transfer..then a nice drive home

 

[Coolcats]

I think either you or I are confused.

Most would snap the hand off for a VWt5 or similar, they will sell all day long, others won't.

Reading your post many of my vehicles I buy and sell is done with thinking about the dealer what is good for them and me, the T5 we had is interesting, the MoHo dealers all wanted to 'steal' it, a number of the MoHo deals would just pass the T5 to a dealer in the 'south' who specialises in VW's the dealer who I mentioned who is happy to do a commission sale is not a MoHo dealer but was curious about how this would sell and was prepared to 'give it a go' in the mean time I had an offer from a private buyer.

I think your right in that buying and selling is dependant on many factors and there is no one right way jut what you are happy to sell at and anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

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